IMO the biggest mistake they made was running the league in the spring. No one wants to watch football after the Super Bowl; in spring its time to move on to baseball, NBA/NHL playoffs, March Madness, etc.

They should have run games in the fall on alternate nights from the NFL (say, Wednesday and Friday), and Saturday afternoon, where they would have had a gigantic audience already watching college football. People would have sampled the league with their remotes; ratings would have been in the bag.

Than not only would they be competing with the NFL but also NCAA. Those days you listed are NCAA Football days. It would have been best if they started after the NFL Draft and it would have ended right around the start of NFL season.